A cursory glance at the SOLEMNITY OF ASCENSION OF THE LORD: Its Historical Excursus and Customs
Introduction
The celebration of the Ascension of the Lord has been an aged long tradition in the Church. Following our Christian belief, the ascension of Jesus Christ into Heaven took place on the 40th day after His Resurrection (Easter being reckoned as the first day).
Thus, it is celebrated each year on the fortieth day after the Great and Holy Feast of Pascha (Easter). Since the date of Pascha changes each year, the date for the solemnity of the Ascension also changes.
The solemnity is always celebrated on Thursday and therefore designated with the term, “Ascension Thursday”. It commemorates the bodily Ascension of Jesus into Heaven. It has an Ecumenical character. But in the Roman Catholic Church it is named ‘‘the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord’’, and traditionally celebrated on a Thursday, the fortieth day after Easter, (following the account of Acts 1:3); although some Roman Catholic Provinces have moved the observance to the following Sunday with the permission from the Vatican, the Sunday before Pentecost. This is in keeping with a trend to move the “Holy Days of Obligation” from weekdays to Sunday, to encourage more Catholics to observe feasts considered important.
(cf. "Ascension." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2014).
The decision to move a feast is made by the bishops of an ecclesiastical province, i.e. an Archbishop and the neighbouring bishops. The switch to Sunday was made in 1992 by the Church in Australia; before 1996 in parts of Europe; in 1996 in Ireland; before 1998 in Canada and parts of the western United States; in many other parts in the United States from 1999; and in England and Wales from 2007. The U.S. cities which retain Thursday observance in 2009 are Boston, Hartford, New York, Omaha, and Philadelphia and the Church here in Nigeria.
The Ascension of Our Lord is the final act of our redemption that Christ began on Good Friday. On this day, the risen Christ, in the sight of His apostles, ascended bodily into Heaven (cf. Luke 24:51; Mark 16:19; Acts 1:9-11). This solemn celebration precedes the feast of Pentecost, which is celebrated fiftieth day after the Resurrection of our Lord and Redeemer.
It is in line with this celebration that this work mounts its searchlight to unravel the historical excursus, and its theological imports in our lives.
Its Historical Excursus and Customs
The Solemnity of Ascension as it is called in the Roman Catholic tradition is known in Eastern rite in Greek as Analepsis, the "taking up", and also as the Episozomene, the "salvation from on high", denoting that by ascending into His glory Christ completed the work of our redemption. Ascension is one of the Twelve Great Feasts of the Orthodox liturgical year. In the Eastern rite, the feast is always observed with an All-night-vigil. The day before is the Apodosis (leave-taking) of Easter (i.e., the last day of the Feast of Easter). The Paroemia (Old Testament readings) at Vespers on the eve of the Feast are Isaiah 2:2-3; 62:10-63:3, 63:7-9; and Zech. 14:1-4; 14:8-11. At the Divine Liturgy, the Epistle is Acts 1:1-12, and the Gospel is Luke 24:36-53.
Ascension Thursday also commemorates the Holy Georgian Martyrs of Persia (17th–18th centuries). The Sunday after Ascension is the Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council at Nicaea. This council formulated the Nicene Creed up to the words, "He [Jesus] ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father; and shall come again, with glory, to judge the living and the dead; Whose kingdom shall have no end." The After feast ends on the following Friday, the Friday before Pentecost. The next day is appropriately a Saturday of the Dead (general commemoration of all faithful departed).
However, the customs of the Solemnity of Ascension were connected with the liturgy of this feast, such as the blessing of beans and grapes after the Commemoration of the Dead in the Canon of the Mass, the blessing of first fruits, afterwards done on Rogation Days, the blessing of a candle, the wearing of mitres by deacon and sub-deacon, the extinguishing of the paschal candle, and triumphal processions with torches and banners outside the churches to commemorate the entry of Christ into heaven.
The antiquarian Daniel Rock records the English custom of carrying at the head of the procession the banner bearing the device of the lion and at the foot the banner of the dragon, to symbolize the triumph of Christ in his ascension over the evil one (and can also be interpreted by analogy as the triumph of England over Wales). In some churches the scene of the Ascension was vividly reproduced by elevating the figure of Christ above the altar through an opening in the roof of the church. In others, whilst the figure of Christ was made to ascend, that of the devil was made to descend.
(cf. www.newadvent.org).
Biblically, the first chapter of the Acts of the Apostles records account of Jesus appearing to the Apostles on various occasions during a period of 40 days, here Jesus was taken up in their presence and was then hidden from them by a cloud, a frequent biblical image signifying the presence of God. Although belief in the Ascension is apparent in other books of the New Testament, the emphasis and the imagery differ. In The Gospel according to Evangelist John, the glorification described by the Ascension story seems to have taken place immediately after the Resurrection. The imagery of the account in the Gospel according to Evangelist Luke is similar to that of Acts, but there is no mention of a period of 40 days.
The meaning of the Ascension for Christians is derived from their belief in the glorification and exaltation of Jesus following his death and Resurrection, as well as from the theme of his return to the Father. Thus, The Gospel according to Evangelist John uses both the sayings of Jesus and his post-Resurrection appearances to indicate a new relationship between Jesus and his Father and between him and his followers, rather than a simple physical relocation from earth to heaven.
The Ascension of Jesus is mentioned in the Apostles’ Creed, a profession of faith used for baptism in the early church. The feast of the Ascension ranks with Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost in the universality of its observance among Christians. The feast has been celebrated 40 days after Easter in both Eastern and Western Christianity since the 4th century. Prior to that time, the Ascension was commemorated as a part of the celebration of the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
Its Spiritual Import
The importance of this great festival cannot be overemphasized, according to St. Augustine in his Sermons on the Ascension many centuries ago; he outlined the spiritual imports of this event. Stressing that, the Ascension of our Lord into Heaven has transcends the pictorial ascending of our Lord, but goes further to assume the confirmation of the father’s love for us. For St. Augustine, as Jesus Christ our Lord went up to Heaven, let our hearts go up with Him, bearing in mind the admonition of St. Paul, who asserted that ‘If you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.’
It is a truism that Christ is now raised above the Heavens; but He still experiences on earth whatever sufferings we His members feel. He showed that this is true when He called out from Heaven: ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ And: ‘I was thirsty and you gave me drink’ (cf. Sermons of St. Augustine on the Ascension, Mai 98, The Divine Office, Vol. II, p. 627).
Conclusion
In conclusion, the reality of Christ's Ascension is so important that the creeds (the basic statements of our belief) of Christianity affirm, in the words of the Apostles’ Creed that "He ascended into heaven, sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead." The denial of the Ascension is as grave as departure from Christian teaching and denial of Christ's Resurrection.
Christ's bodily Ascension foreshadows our own entrance into Heaven not simply as souls, after our death, but as glorified bodies, after the resurrection of the dead at the final judgment. In redeeming mankind, Christ not only offered salvation to our souls but began the restoration of the material world itself to the glory that God intended before Adam's fall.
The Solemnity of the Ascension marks the beginning of nine days of prayer in honour of the Holy Spirit. Before His Ascension, Christ promised to send the Holy Spirit to His apostles. Their prayer for the coming of the Holy Spirit, which began on Ascension Thursday, ended with the descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost Sunday, ten days later.
It is on this note that the Catholics all over the world recalled that first novena, by praying the Novena to the Holy Spirit between Ascension and Pentecost, asking for the gifts of the Holy Spirit and her fruits. Therefore, while in great anticipation of the descent of the paraclete (Holy Spirit), let us pray to God to enlighten the darkness of our innermost heart to see the seven beautiful gifts of the third person in the Holy Trinity; and to give us the necessary grace to exercise these gifts for the greater glory of God.
Peace, be with you!
© The ARCHIVE
